The Halloween Collection by Indie Eclective Read Free Book Online

operating
rooms was used to treat psychiatric patients.”
    “Psych patients?” Sara wavered.
    “Used to take the really crazy ones up there
for, what do you call it…shock treatment? Anyway, it was on a
Halloween. They don’t really know what happened, but they think
someone had turned the oxygen on and a short in one of the
electrodes ignited the tank. Kaboom! The entire room became a
raging furnace.”
    Sara purposely tried to slow her breathing.
“Any survivors?” she asked, trying her best to hide her angst.
    “Are you kidding? The devil himself would
have burned in that inferno. It was so unfortunate. We lost two
doctors, both nurses, and oh that poor patient. Supposedly, he’d
once been an orderly here, but was dismissed when a med student
reported him for starting a fire in one of the hospital rooms. He
was being treated for pyromania and severe schizophrenia.”
    “How terrible.”
    “What’s past is past.” The librarian patted
Sara’s arm. “Study hard, dear.”
    “I will.” But the throbbing in Sara’s head
had returned.
     
    * * *
     
    Sara McCaffe, gowned in her surgical greens,
stood outside the observation window of OR 12. An aseptic smell
permeated the entire surgical suite. A short distance away, two
surgical residents were busy scrubbing their hands, getting ready
for the morning’s first case. Feeling anxious, Sara reached for her
right eye in an attempt to mask the irritating twitch that had
suddenly become evident. Screw Halloween. Just her bad luck—her
first case in surgery fell on the devil’s day.
    “Morning, Sara. You nervous?”
    Sara turned toward the friendly voice.
Recognizing Julie Charmaine, a fellow third year student, she
smiled ruefully. “Got my case coming up, and for some reason, I
don’t feel real confident.”
    She was telling the truth, too. From the
time her alarm went off at 5:00 a.m., Sara had felt a strange
premonition about today.
    Julie eased her pretty figure beside her.
“Hey, don’t worry. From what I hear, they don’t let us third years
even near a suture, much less a scalpel. We just gotta watch and
act interested. Besides I’m going into psychiatry, not surgery.
What room you in?”
    Sara glanced back, somewhat puzzled. “OR 12,
here.”
    Julie thought for a second. “That’s odd. My
case is supposed to be here. See, there are the two residents
scrubbing in.” Julie pointed to the near scrub sink.
    Sara didn’t answer. Damn, she should have
brought her schedule with her, she cursed quietly.
    “Who told you OR 12?” Julie asked, tying her
surgical mask in place.
    “Some nurse on the evening shift.”
    “Hm. There’s one other OR on the other side
of that surgical supply room.”
    “Julie, you ready?” A loud voice boomed from
the scrub sink.
    Julie turned to Sara. “See ya later. Oh, and
good luck. Don’t let the goblins bite you.”
    “Not funny.” Sara watched Julie leave. “What
is this bullshit,” she muttered under her breath. Her first day on
the toughest rotation of med school and already a screw-up. Happy
fucking Halloween.
    Checking her watch, Sara decided against
rushing back to scheduling administration. She’d definitely be late
then. Shrugging her shoulders in frustration, she walked toward the
next operating room. With each step, however, she noted an
increasing awareness to all her senses. She could hear each breath
clearly. She was conscious of each beat of her heart. She even felt
the muscles of her legs tense.
    Just past the open door of the surgical
supply room, Sara slowed. Nearing the next observation window, she
came to a halt. A one and a three glared at her from above the
door.
    Without holding back, Sara stepped up and
peered into the gray interior of OR 13.
     
    * * *
     
    Expecting to see an empty operating room,
Sara experienced an immediate feeling of relief at the scene on the
other side of the glass. She watched as two individuals in green
scrubs arranged several trays of instruments on the